Safety Hazards of Attaching Signs to Utility Poles Signs and Other Structures Pose a Safety Hazard
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (February 5, 2004) – Attaching signs or other objects to utility poles without the electric utility’s consent is not only illegal, it can also be dangerous.
Besides impairing traffic visibility, illegal pole attachments pose a serious safety hazard to line workers. Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation asks the public to please refrain from placing signs or other objects on power poles because illegal attachments make the poles extremely hazardous—and sometimes impossible—for line workers to climb and make repairs.
It only takes a nail partially driven into a pole to cause serious injury to a line worker. Nail holes also allow moisture to enter wooden poles, causing premature decay and the expense of early replacement.
The majority of illegal attachments reported on utility poles are signs for politicians, religious entities, yard sales and other announcements. Also reported have been deer stands, clotheslines, basketball goals, birdhouses and bird feeders.
In addition to posing a safety hazard, it can also be costly and impractical for the cooperative to send linemen out to remove each and every illegal pole attachment.
Blue Ridge Electric is a member-owned electric cooperative serving some 66,000 consumers in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Alexander and Wilkes counties.
